Saturday, September 29, 2007

Despite swatching, once I started the back of the 36" size, it was coming out huge. So I ripped it out and started again on smaller needles, bingo! Maybe I'm just more conscientious of my gauge when I'm swatching :) Anyhow, this is the result of a very boring two hour lecture on databases:

The lighting is poor but I'm much more satisfied this time around! Especially since I used one of the bind off tips mentioned somewhere below; slipping the last stitch to minimize the "stairs" effect. :)

Tuesday, September 25, 2007

I am having the hardest time, and debating ripping almost the whole thing out. Advice?I am making the 44" size for (what I have to now admit) my disproportionately larger chest of 45". What I have found: The pieces across the bust fit okay, and the sleeves are tight, but also okay. The skirt is only half-complete but looking fine. (I would post photos but they are just too embarrassing!)

The back is huge, and the armscyes are huge. So much so that upon setting the sleeves, the arm holes almost pleat a little to keep up.

The neck is monstrous, and doesn't lay prettily like the photo, but creeps halfway up my head and hides the fact that, yes, indeed I DO have a neck!

I think my problem is this: I think I needed to do a smaller size to fit my body, and somehow increase through the chest (someone here...or was it in Ravelry? Has already asked about bust shortrows? But I think with the diagonal shaping it may be impossible?)

What do you think about:

Ripping out the neck to only about 2 inches?

Creating side seams to take up the massive amount of extra fabric under the arms?

Creating darts in the lower back?

Ripping out everything but the sleeves and skirt, re-knitting to a smaller size, somehow making the bigger sleeves and skirt fit onto the new smaller body, and not being disappointed when the new size stretches oddly over the chest?

And finally a question for everyone who loves the fit of theirs: Does it fit your body but have negative ease across your chest?

Thanks for being a part of this KAL. It is insanely helpful to have other people knitting the same pattern!

Hello all - my name is Lisa and I blog mostly at knittingupastorm.blogspot.com!

I've recently started the Tilted Duster using Brooks Farm Solana and loving it. I am making the 44" size. Although my bust size is 37", I want it to be bigger so the front panels meet and not look like there is a huge gap. I prefer it this way. Plus, my arms resemble popeye's arms, so I want a bit more wiggle room there. Here is an in progress shot of the back:

Monday, September 24, 2007

Hi! I've been watching the KAL, but not posting. Bad me. I'm nearly done and I must say this is one of my favorite projects that I've ever done. Stats on mine: Size 10 needles with Malabrigo Red Mahogany, less than six skeins for the 40" bust size. My gauge is such that this is coming out a bit bigger than a 40", which is just what I need! I did the sleeves and collar *before* I did the skirt and I highly recommend this method. The skirt gets a bit mind numbing and it's nice to know that when the skirt is done, you're done except for finishing! Here's a pretty accurate picture of mine color-wise:

And here's my obligatory question: How are y'all binding off? I'm at that point on the skirt and my 62 stitch panels are curling like woah! I'm gonna attempt the k2p2 bindoff in that section next, but this is so lovely I don't wanna screw it up!

Sunday, September 23, 2007

I'm terrible for not posting here while I was working on it, but I just wanted to add a few photos of my now completed duster! I started in mid August and finished it on September 14th...you can read more about my experiences with "TD" on my blog post here.

Saturday, September 22, 2007

I have discovered this knitalong by accident and have been invited to post (thanks Courtney for your help). I am doing this along with the Ready Set Knit knitalong, although have charged on ahead and have now done the two fronts and the back, and one sleeve. I have chosen to do mine in the same colour purple Peruvia as the model on the mag, and am pleased to say the colour is different than it looks, but a much better purple. I struck a couple of issues with the back shoulder shaping, but more to do with a brain malfunction on my part I think. All is now on track.

Im also of the opinion that its a little snug, especially in the sleeves. I wont want to be wearing much bulky stuff underneath, but I didnt want it to be big. I have made the 36" and I am a 37" bust. Blocking may help a little, but we will see how it goes. Was everyone else happy with their size and how did their blocking go????

Hi, everyone! My name is Shelby (ShelbyD on Ravelry), and I found this KAL last night as I was working on the back piece of my Tilted Duster. I've only made one other adult-size sweater, but this pattern is adorable and I had suitable yarn in my stash.

I am using navy blue Cascade 200 wool on size 10 needles. In reading comments here and elsewhere, I plan to use short rows and a three-needle bindoff for the shoulders, and possibly make the sleeves a bit looser.

If you are waiting for an invite, please check your spam folder, I have like 6 people who requested to be on and I have sent three invites now. I will delete them next week if there is no answer, so if you have been waiting to get on check your spam folder. :-) Hope everyone has a good weekend.

Friday, September 21, 2007

Hello, I'm Anna, AnnaW on Ravelry. I'm the mother of a toddler, working on my dissertation in Pittsburgh, PA. I knit as a method of relxation and procrastination.

The Peruvia arrived last week from Jimmy Beans Wool, but I made myself finish a stack of WIPs that I'd been working on all summer. I cast on last night. The Peruvia is beautiful, with beautiful stitch definition for wool. My only concern is about the size. My bust is 37.5. I'm making the 40.5 size, and I hope it won't be too big.

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

...but I'm not letting myself yet :( I am trying to push through and finish a cardigan I started for my daughter in May (before she outgrows it!), and I know if I cast on with this yarn, even just for a gauge swatch, I won't stop until my Tilted Duster is finished!

I received my yarn yesterday, I chose the color Acquamarina in Berroco Peruvia. I ordered it a couple of weeks ago, but it was on backorder. I'm glad I didn't go with a different color, because I love this one!

By the way, I'm Penny and you can read more on my blog! My Ravelry ID is PennyLane.

I'm so excited I found this KAL! Like other people have said, reading the back posts has been really helpful. I'm a New Englander playing house in Pittsburgh, PA and secretly pining for the Atlantic, not that the hills aren't a nice change of scenery!

I swatched on Friday and started the back on Saturday. This is my second sweater so I'm feeling pretty good about this one. I'm using the suggested Berroci in the Purpura because I fell in love with it when the magazine landed on my doorstep.

It's going to be a little slow going at first (grad school does not seem to be conducive to long knitting sessions) but so far so good! I'll try and have some pictures up soon!

SO, I finished mine a few days back (see down a bit), and I just love it. BUT despite the buttons it shifts open ever so slightly so the collar doesn't line up exactly. Since I'll never wear it unbuttoned, I am seriously debating sewing it shut along that line. It wouldn't be detectable. What do you think?

Tuesday, September 18, 2007

Well not completely "done". But I can happily say that I did finish the back and fronts.

I had to modify the shoulders a bit. I really hate stair stepping bind offs. They are a total PIA to seam. I tried seaming it and it looked absolutely horrible. Horrible and lumpy!

So I modified them and did a three needle bind off and now the shoulders look quite lovely.

I'm a bit further along than the picture shows. A few rows into the skirt. It's looking very nice. I still need to do the sleeves, but I wanted to work on the ribbing for a little bit.

The Peruvia is very nice to work with too! I was a bit surprised because when my yarn arrived, while it was soft, it was quite fuzzy. I thought it might be too scratchy to work with, but it's working out very nicely. I'd definitely use this yarn again.

Yesterday in the afternoon I managed to sew on the buttons. And I could wear it in the evening ! My first Interweave Knits pattern !It fits, sleeves are a bit long, but I don't mind, too short would be worse.As I had to find a substitute to Berrocco Peruvia I eventually decided to knit from stash. Gedifra Fashion Trend Surprise with its colour streaks adds a little zing to the pattern and knits up well. I needed about 625 g =1225 yds.

This pattern was fun to knit, but sometimes a bit tricky. I am not the only one who misunderstood the back design, I had to frog and knit until 8 inch of height.My alterations:I bound off the stockinette skirt inserts k2 p2. They tend to roll up much less. After damp blocking they are fine.I chose two smaller buttons for the inside and attached them on the inside of the right collar side and close them with crocheted eyelets on the left edge.

I plan to knit another TD for one of my daughters or someone else for christmas:-)

Monday, September 17, 2007

I am working steady on my Duster. I seamed up the front and backs last night. IT was so much fun that I didn't pay attention and did each one wrong, so it took me a LONG time of Frogging the seams and redoing them. I did manage to pick up for the skirt and stopped there. I know my limitations!

I finished my duster!!! I haven't gotten a chance to go out and buy buttons, but otherwise all done. My son took two picutres (which is why I look like I am defying gravity!). I'll post better ones tonight on my blog. I used 2 skeins and a tiny bit of Eco Wool in a pretty chocolate brown (I knit the small). It knit up very fast and I made no alterations.

Sunday, September 16, 2007

I started the Tilted Duster a couple of days ago. I've finished the back and cast on both fronts (L & R) together, so I can knit them both at the same time. I'm hoping that this way, they'll both be the same size. Due to total lack of funds at this time, I'm knitting from stash because I didn't want to wait. I want this sweater now, rather than later. Unfortunately, the only yarn that I had enough of was Canadiana. It's acrylic, and doesn't have the softness of wool, but I figured that this sweater could be a "test run" and if it turns out well and looks good on, I could upgrade the yarn for the next version.

I have been furiously knitting. I was hoping to have this done by now, but I caught a nasty cold (as did everyone else in my household, dogs excluded) and I am running behind schedule. Since ripping out my first attempt at this pattern, I think that I am liking the new version much better. It will be a bit bulkier, since I was using Elann's Sierra Aran and now I am using Malabrigo Worsted, but I just love the Malabrigo so much. It is so lofty and soft. I hope we get some cool weather this year. I sit outside at a lot of soccer games (my eldest daughter plays high school and club soccer) and it can get really cold out there. This sweater should be great for those chilly Fall/Winter games.

I finished the fronts, back and skirt. I am not working on the collar. I have a 1/4 of one sleeve done. I just got bored and had to get to the skirt. Only one maybe snafu.....I may, may, may...hoping not....run out of yarn. I think I will be ok and I can order another skein, but it probably won't be the exact dye lot. Still keeping my fingers crossed that won't be necessary. That is sort of why I am trying to rush this last part. I want to know ASAP if I am going to have a yarn crisis or not. If all goes well, I should be done early this week. I am really liking this knit. It is really simple and straightforward. I thought it would be a lot more complicated. Happily, that is not the case. This is a good knit for a beginner/intermediate. I would definitely recommend this one to someone that want to take the plunge into garment knitting.

just a short notice:both sleeves are finished. now I am actually working on the skirt, perhaps finish it today in the evening in front of the TV. it's a big piece of fabric. I am looking forward to knit the collar and hope the sleeves are not so tight.Thank you for posting dropped stitches' pattern review and her photos of her finished TD!

Saturday, September 15, 2007

Hi, I'm knothead03, and I am really excited about this pattern. This is also my first knitalong. I have started the tilted duster and I like it alot so far. One thing, though, I did the armhole shaping on the back wrong the first time, and I have reknit it. What I can't figure out is that the left side of the shaping is longer than the right side. I followed the directions exactly, and dont know what's wrong. Any suggestions?

Thursday, September 13, 2007

Just wanted to let you know that one of the knitting blogs I read, The Brown Sheep, has just posted really fantastic pictures of a finished TD. She also gave a really detailed critque from the sleeves to the yarn.

I started my duster last Saturday, and I've got the top done and now I'm working the skirt. However, I was wondering....has anybody tried picking up stitches around the armhole and working the sleeves down from the body in the round? I absolutely hate sleeves that are too long (I usually make 3/4 sleeves because I don't like them around my wrists) and I usually have a hard time gauging how long to make them when I start at the bottom. I have Barbara Walker's book Knitting from the Top and I think I'll check that and see if I can figure a way to work those sleeves. Does it sound doable?

Wednesday, September 12, 2007

Here's an updated and somewhat-more-purple-than-in-real-life shot of my duster.

I only have two more repeats of THE 8 rows to go (woot woot!) I think there's a small chance (fingers crossed) that I'll have this bad boy blocking this weekend.

Some of you have asked how setting the sleeves before seaming up the side seams and picking up the stitches for the skirt worked out. I think it worked out fine. The whole piece is a little larger and heavier than if I had decided to hold off on the seaming. It's not great for say knitting and walking (although I do manage with the top half of the sweater in a tote bag that I carry on my shoulder while I knit away on the skirt on the commute home from work) but overall it was the best decision for me. The first few rows of the skirt were a bit of a pain since I would have to pick up the whole sweater and turn it at the end of each row, now that I've made some progress on it, the extra bulk doesn't hinder my knitting at all.

Another thing that I did with my duster was alternate right and left-leaning M1s to have a more polished increase line (M1 left when you start the stockinette "slice" and M1 right at the end of said "slice"). There's a very good instructional video here on how to execute the M1 right vs. M1 left if you want to refresh your memory.

Hopefully I'll have some FO pictures for you all early next week! Thanks to everyone who has been posting updates on their dusters, it's really helping me stay motivated.

Somehow every time I work on the Tilted Duster my left wrist hurts. Maybe I am just pulling the yarn too tightly. I finished and sewed the fronts and back and because I am a very impatient person I went ahead started the skirt. I couldn't see any reason for making the sleeves next, except to just get them done. Sewing was hard because if you tug on the Berroco yarn it just pulls apart. Did anyone else have that problem? I am already dreading sewing the sleeves. Maybe I should use some other yarn for sewing. I love the way it looks so far but I already made one mistake in a tilted section. There was a huge hole on a M1. Knitting back with over 200 stitches wasn’t going to work so I tried to drop it down and fix it that way. The hole is gone but it is certainly not perfect

Sunday, September 9, 2007

I've made quick progress finishing the sides, back and one sleeve in just two nights of work. I started the second sleeve and hope to finish it tonight after the kdis go to sleep. I am torn as to whether to sew the sleeves in before doing the skirt or waiting until the end. This is my evening only project, so I won't be transporting it anywhere. Anyone have any reasons to do it one way versus the other. Just want to be sure I'm not fogetting something! I figure if I can get the whole top assembled, I can try it on for size and fix any issues before starting the skirt. Thanks all!!

Saturday, September 8, 2007

I am just beginning the duster. I'm using the Granada colorway from Berroco and ordered it from Webs. The package was here when I got home from work. I will swatch tomight and I want to wash it on "handwash" to see if it felts or holds up without shrinking. I have a history of UFOs when I get bored with a pattern (usually about the sleeves) so I have to stay focused!Plus I work in a LYS and I get very distracted there!

Friday, September 7, 2007

After completing my duster knitted from Berroco Peruvia that fit perfectly, I put it in the washing machine with the setting at cold water, handwash delicate cycle thinking it would firm up my stitches and remove the "wooly" smell. I was horrified to find that one side felted beyond repair -- although I used cold water, I think the gentle agitation added to the unwanted felting process. The whole thing is wasted and now I'll painfully cut off my fancy buttons and save for another day.

You may know this already, but PLEASE learn from my mistake and only hand wash your wool duster.

Hello lovely Tilted Duster folk. I just signed up for this KAL. Here is a slightly outdated photo of my Toronto-based Duster.

To knit the 36" size, I'm using the recommended Berroco yarn in the Granada colourway since it was relatively inexpensive and readily available. I'm really enjoying knitting with this yarn. I love the colour, it is a perfect interpretation of a pomegranate (*yum*).

So far I've made it through the body, both sleeves, and two repeats of the skirt. Cleverly/foolishly enough (the jury's still out), I decided to set the sleeves before starting the skirt since I find it much easier to do so before the side seams have been sewn (it is making the whole skirt knitting thing a little unwieldy though).

I'm beginning to feel as though I may be suffering from a case of the slogs as I work my way through the skirt. I expect that it's mostly a symptom of the cooler weather that we've been having as of late and by extension my growing anticipation to wear the finished product!

Tuesday, September 4, 2007

Hey, kaleidoscopic. Looks like we share the same taste in yarn and color choices. I too, opted for the suggested Berroco in Marron. We had a debate at my LYS on what this color is exactly. I've been on a brown kick lately and thought this different shade of brown would be a good transition to other colors but everyone just tells me "it's brown." Such is life. I didn't do a gauge but the fit is perfect. I knitted a few extra rows on the collar for a turtleneck fit and a few extra to make the sleeves a bit longer. I plan to post a modeled picture after I wash and block it. Knit On - KnitnRide

well, I put up a post weeks ago about having ordered my yarn and saying that I tend to knit socks on 0 when 2 is called for... so I went out and got size 8 and 9 needles and started with the 8, well, I am up to 9 so I guess you can never tell what gauge will be on what needles until you figure it out!

So I started. My first sweater and all instructions look like a foreign language to me so I am getting that first four inches done of the back THEN I will do one sentence at a time and figure it out. When I try to read too much I get that panicky feeling.